How to fill out Alabama MVT 5-6

The short route through an Alabama estate. Where the owner has died and the estate has not been and will not be probated, one heir signs this affidavit on behalf of all of them, attaches a copy of the death certificate, and can then either order a replacement title or sign the assignment as seller on behalf of the estate. Where there is a probate court involved, this form is the wrong one and letters testamentary or letters of administration take its place.

Written against MVT 5-6 (2/20), issued under Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-5-75-.09. Decide which of the two boxes you need before you sign, because they lead to different weeks. Asking for a replacement certificate puts a clean title into the estate's hands and takes ten to fifteen days after the application is received. Transferring straight to a buyer on the existing certificate is faster and requires the certificate to be in front of you, undamaged, with its assignment block unused.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVT 5-6 from the revenue.alabama.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Vehicle identification number

   The full VIN, top left, taken from the certificate.

   Watch out: If the certificate cannot be found, a designated agent can look the vehicle up on the Department's record - but the affidavit still needs the number written on it.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Title number

   The Alabama title number, top right.

   Watch out: It is printed on the face of the certificate at the far left of the data band, next to the VIN. The two are easy to swap and the Department reads both.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Year, make, model

   Three fields on the second row.

   Watch out: Copy them from the title rather than from memory. A model written as F-150 on one document and F150 on another is the kind of variance that generates a query.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Name of deceased

   The full legal name as it appears on the certificate.

   Watch out: If the death certificate and the title carry the name differently - a married name on one, a maiden name on the other - expect to be asked for something that ties the two together.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Address of deceased

   Street, then city, state and ZIP on the row underneath.

   Watch out: The address the Department holds, which is the one on the certificate, even if the deceased moved years ago.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Check one box only

   The first box orders a replacement certificate; the second transfers the vehicle using the assignment already completed on the existing certificate.

   Watch out: Whichever you tick, the bracketed note names you as the person who must then complete that document. You cannot sign this and hand the pen to a sibling.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Signature and printed name of next of kin

   Sign, print and date under the certification made under penalty of perjury.

   Watch out: No notary, no witness, no probate seal. What carries the weight here is the death certificate stapled behind it.

What gets this one rejected

• •Filing it where the estate is going through probate. The rule sends that case to a copy of the letters testamentary, letters of administration, or an equivalent order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction instead.
• •Sending it without a death certificate. The note at the head of the form makes it a condition: this affidavit must be submitted with a copy of the death certificate when applying for an Alabama Certificate of Title.
• •Ticking both boxes. They are alternatives - one asks for a fresh certificate in the estate's hands, the other transfers straight to a buyer.
• •One heir signing this and a different heir signing the assignment. Both bracketed notes say the same thing: the individual who completed this form is the one who must complete the application or the assignment.
• •A printed name with no signature, or a signature nobody can read with no printed name. The line under the block asks for both.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Sign the assignment as the estate, not as yourself. The rule spells out the mechanics: when transferring ownership, the next of kin must complete the assignment of the certificate of title as the seller on behalf of the estate of the deceased owner.
• •A car the deceased bought but never titled. Rule 810-5-75-.09(3) covers it. The vehicle has to be titled in the estate of the deceased owner first, by whichever of the two routes applies, before it can go anywhere.
• •It is an affidavit about all of the heirs. You are certifying that it is the desire of the said heirs, plural, not merely your own. One heir signing over a family disagreement is a problem the Department has no way of seeing and every reason to take seriously afterwards.

Every line here was read off MVT 5-6 (2/20) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Alabama seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Alabama involves.